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Battle of Frishac
"Target secured, you may bring the party to us" -Captain Vesmir of the 37th Vanatori light infantry, after the capture of the shield generator in Frishac's North Pole- The 'battle of Frishac '(2299/11/14-2299/11/30) was the second planetary invasion done by Commonwealth forces during their war against the Yaanari league in the last days of the 23rd century. As it happened with the previous invasion, the battle of Thrus-Sanguur, the Commonwealth achieved a swift and one-sided victory little more than two weeks after the first of its forces landed on Frishac. Fought right after the victory of Task Force Manticore against the Yaanari fleet in the Battle of Ebucrosie, the forces of Frishac were stunned to learn of the defeat of their main armada after losing the planet of Thrus-Sanguur. With most of their best officers and commanders dead or fleeing to the core league worlds, the defence of Frishac was trusted to a mixture of petty officers and important oligarchs with more experience as raiders than they had as soldiers. Matched in strenght and power, not one Yaanari managed to become the true leader of the defence force when the ships of Task Force Manticore reached the planet's orbit. Working as different armies instead of a single, united force, they had little chance to survive the Commonwealth's assault. One particular advantage the defenders had was a series of huge, shield generators built on the ice of their planet's North Pole, generators strong enough to stop most shells of any fleet trying to bombard their planet. While this machinery did force the Commonwealth's fleet to spend more time bombarding the planet, it only gave the defenders a couple of weeks at most, before General Aspinaca and his forces landed and settled the battle for good. Dealing with the shields As Admiral Ibrahim entered the orbit of Frishac, her ship's scanners detected the strong energy shield deployed by the Yaanari to counter the bombardment which had been so effective on her previous battle. With the Yaanari fleet all but destroyed however, the admiral was in no hurry. Ordering ships to fire without any need to aim, she unleashed a rain of firepower on the Yaanari's glowing, blue shield, a storm which she knew the machine's systems would not be able to handle forever. Still, General Aspinaca argued that they could not wait forever. Every week that went by allowed other Yaanari planets to fortify, build new armies and even more ships to strike the Commonwealth's supply lines. Thrus-Sanguur, the planet they had conquered a year ago, still had a large Yaanari population which would take any chance to take arms and return the world to the league's control. As a way to speed up the process, a special team was prepared to enter through one of the shield's weaker points and deploy a force to take down or destroy the planet's shield systems. Knowing that they could not deploy to many forces and that surprise and speed would be key, the units send to them were a mixture of companies from different volunteer regiments: The 37th Vanatori light, veterans of the 3rd Karthemas Auxiliary Banner and 400 men and women of the specialized psionic squads. The attack begins Moving through once a barrage had made a large-enough hole into the shield, the mixed force made landing several miles away from the systems which kept the energy field intact. Already, it was starting to weaken, yet experts still thought it would last for another week, if not more. With the Vanatori at the front, the Karthemas at the back and the psionic users in the middle for support, the small, strike force advanced towards the shield generators. The Yaanari of course knew of the attack, but due to the small size of the force and the Vanatori's skills when it came to moving through snow without ever been spotted, the forces patroling the area were unable to intercept them and, if they did, they did not last for long enough to raise the alarm. Moving fast and unseen, the Vanatoris, alongside squads of psionic users, made sure to quickly dispatch any patrols and watch towers on their way as they finally reached the Yaanari base where the shield systems were in. Once there, it was the Karthemas turn to show their worth. Vengence in the Tundra Amongst those fighting in the Karthemas banners were many old knights who still remembered the Kingdom of Yadra and the betrayal of the league. Holding close-range weaponry and glowing, power blades, reptilian blademasters suddenly materialized on the tundra, their sudden charge catching the Yaanari defenders so much by surprise, they could only fire a few shots before they were slaughtered by the assault groups. Moving right behind, psionic users unleashed their powers on those squads of Yaanari trying to organize a defence. Confused and seeing more foes than there really were, many tried to retreat, only to be cut down by a mixture of Karthemas blades and well aimed shots from the Vanatoris right behind them. Two hours after the assault had begun, the strike force managed to reach the shield systems. Quickly, they turned them down, just as nearby bases sent heavily-armed forces from the Yaanari surface patrol to recover their lost machinery. Using the fortifications and towers they had taken from their foes, the Commonwealth's force managed to stop and force back several assaults, something which prooved to be surprisingly easy as the Yaanari forces coming at them barely cooperated or tried to support one-another during their attacks. The beginning of the end With the shield systems gone, the fate of the Yaanari defenders was all but sealed. As it had happened during the battle of Thrus-Sanguur, Minervan Spiders were the first to land and assault the Yaanari land forces, followed close by heavy formations of silent, snow-white battledroids. To try and slow down the advance of these foes, Yaanari deployed their infamous slave forces, many of whom wore explosive collars around their necks to prevent them from turning their weapons against their masters. Still, the battles which followed were often one-sided, swift and bloody. Caring little about who stood before them, spiders and droids cut down the cannon fodder presented to them before turning their attention towards the Yaanari troops. Now without the shield which had protected them from Task Force Manticore's heavy guns, thousands were obliterated as shells, lasers and barrages from fighter-bombers turned whole regiments into dust. All further attempts by the Yaanari commanders to finally combine their troops came to late. Isolated and surrounded, those who did not surrender before the second wave of Commonwealth volunteer infantry were either cut down, devoured or fled to the most remote territories of the planet. Many of those who chose the last option starved or were killed by gangs of liberated slaves. Conquest As it happened after the battle of Thus-Sanguur, General Aspinaca liberated all slaves in the planet, training many of them so they would work as a militia force after the Commonwealth army left to conquer more Yaanari worlds. Aftermath Casualties in the Commonwealth army, unlike those suffered by the Yaanari, were light and could easily be replaced several weeks after the battle was over. Still, due to events happening in the frontier of the Commonwealth itself, Task Force Manticore was forced to leave General Aspinaca and his forces in the planet. The Wraith of Fulaz, a creature unlike any other the Commonwealth had ever seen, had attacked several frontier fortifications, slaughtering thousands without suffering a single scratch in return. Until it was dealt with, the invasion of further Yaanari worlds would need to be kept on hold. Category:Battles Category:Battles involving the Commonwealth